Kuala Lampur, March 22 -- A traveller in the US was arrested and charged last week with animal abuse after allegedly drowning her nine-year-old miniature schnauzer named Tywinn in an airport bathroom before boarding an international flight to Colombia.

Media reports identified the traveller as Alison Agatha Lawrence, adding that the 58-year-old woman had been denied permission to bring the animal on board her flight due to a paperwork issue.

She was arrested in Lake County, Florida last Wednesday.

"This act was intentional and resulted in a cruel and unnecessary death of the animal," the Orlando Police Department was quoted by the Associated Press (AP) news agency as saying in an arrest affidavit.

The incident was reported to have hap...